As CNET.co.uk's resident Mac fanboy, I've had an itch in my wallet for a while now, and last payday I gave in. The iPhone hasn't changed the world to quite the extent the geeksteria seemed to presage, but it's been irresistibly drawing me in, like a tractor beam from a fully operational battle station, since the rumours began what seems like an eternity ago.

Yet buying the iPhone was just like buying anything else, which was a bit of a let-down after all the talk of messiah phones.

If I was expecting to fork over that £329 -- no cash thanks, cash is for wrong'uns -- and magically become younger, sexier, thinner, then I was sorely disappointed. Which just goes to show how ridiculous it is to hype a product with such frenzy, and as much as I love Apple, this is another reminder that it's, well, just a technology manufacturer. It's my favourite technology manufacturer, but still.

What has happened is that I now have a very good phone. The text message conversations are brilliant -- perfect for piecing together the morning after -- and the integration with Address Book and iCal is fantastic. And as for the Internet experience, that actually is worth the hype. Zipping through my Google Reader feeds on the train into work is an absolute joy. iPlayer looks gorgeous. And Google Maps on the go is simply glorious.

It's all so good, I'm philosophical about O2 carving £100 off the price before the 3G model drops. I'm even prepared to wait for the day that Safari stops randomly kicking me back to the menu screen. Maybe I've learned to be happy with what I have.